2315760
Cooperative Agreement
Overview
Grant Description
Nsf Engines: Colorado - Wyoming Climate Resilience Engine -The Colorado - Wyoming Climate Resilience Engine will advance our nation's capacity for innovation in climate technologies. This NSF engine is a regional team working to create consistent, reliable, and trustworthy systems that will support communities to monitor, mitigate and adapt to climate impacts.
Research and commercialization efforts will focus on sensing, monitoring, and predictive analytic technologies for climate resiliency across several topics including methane emissions, soil carbon capture, earth sensing, water scarcity, wildfires, and extreme weather. The NSF engine will not only develop innovative solutions to climate challenges, but will also grow the labor force equitably and inclusively; power innovative pathways toward climate resiliency by utilizing data, predictive modeling and cutting edge technologies; focus on recruitment and retention from rural communities and those traditionally underrepresented; and drive economic growth through programs in use-inspired research, workforce development, translation of products, and strategic partnerships.
Officials in both states have recognized the opportunity of the NSF engine to transform the region into a national leader in developing and commercializing environmental monitoring and climate-resilient technologies, as both states have a commitment to address climate-related challenges faced by communities of this region. The NSF engine has the potential to increase the nation's ability to compete on a global stage as the world races to find technology solutions to the world's greatest climate challenges while also unlocking regional economic growth and creating opportunities.
In addition to the significant national impacts, the NSF engine has the potential to create new jobs and training opportunities in climate technology, particularly for historically underserved, tribal, and rural communities within the region of service. If successful, the innovation ecosystem driven by the NSF engine will accelerate market-ready, globally scalable scientific and technological innovations that empower communities, governments, and industry to prevent, mitigate, prepare, respond to, and recover from climate-related events exacerbated by aridification, including drought, wildfire, storms, and floods.
The NSF engine will also create new technology startups that solve industry needs, bringing with it new jobs, opportunities, and economic prosperity for the states of Colorado and Wyoming. The Colorado - Wyoming Climate Resilience Engine has a region of service that spans all of Colorado and Wyoming and includes a large ecosystem of core partners that are essential to the NSF engine's success: large corporations; universities (including four- and two-year academic institutions, tribal colleges, and Hispanic-serving institutions); economic and workforce development organizations; non-profits; and investment firms.
This diverse coalition of partners will be central to R&D, translation of technology to commercialization, and workforce development efforts. The NSF engine will focus on environmental monitoring technologies and predictive analytics for climate resiliency. The NSF engine will work with core partners and stakeholders including community members, researchers, and industry partners to prioritize R&D initiatives that will build more climate-resilient communities, address user needs, and demonstrate market potential through an integrated co-production process.
The research and translation goals of the NSF engine are to: (1) accelerate community-driven R&D in monitoring technologies and predictive analytics for climate-resilient communities; (2) de-risk translational projects with accelerator programs and rapidly scaling promising innovations; and (3) generate and attract more substantial investments, technologies, and startups to build a sustainable NSF engine that will nurture a diverse, skilled workforce for a climate-tech innovation ecosystem across Colorado and Wyoming. Collectively, these goals will enable the region to become a global leader in innovations for climate resiliency and accelerate regional economic growth.
The leadership team brings deep expertise across all core functions of the NSF engine to ensure the NSF engine goals are met. This expertise includes climate science and data analytics, technology commercialization, entrepreneurship, small business management, and development of sustainable partnerships across higher education, industry, community, and government. The NSF engine has engaged economic and workforce development organizations, industry, national labs, and technical colleges across Colorado and Wyoming to build training and mentorship opportunities.
Specific activities include a range of work-based learning programs, talent matching programs to connect employers to future employees, and the development of credential programs for a climate science workforce. Workforce development activities will prioritize rural and historically underserved communities within the region of service. The Colorado - Wyoming Climate Resilience Engine has brought together a strong coalition of partners and identified strong alignment with regional assets and priorities.
The NSF engine has identified critical R&D topic areas that must be advanced to build climate-resilient communities worldwide. It will support R&D and translational activities to cultivate an innovative ecosystem of technology companies focused on climate science, while also driving economic growth through job creation and training opportunities. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- Subawards are planned for this award.
Research and commercialization efforts will focus on sensing, monitoring, and predictive analytic technologies for climate resiliency across several topics including methane emissions, soil carbon capture, earth sensing, water scarcity, wildfires, and extreme weather. The NSF engine will not only develop innovative solutions to climate challenges, but will also grow the labor force equitably and inclusively; power innovative pathways toward climate resiliency by utilizing data, predictive modeling and cutting edge technologies; focus on recruitment and retention from rural communities and those traditionally underrepresented; and drive economic growth through programs in use-inspired research, workforce development, translation of products, and strategic partnerships.
Officials in both states have recognized the opportunity of the NSF engine to transform the region into a national leader in developing and commercializing environmental monitoring and climate-resilient technologies, as both states have a commitment to address climate-related challenges faced by communities of this region. The NSF engine has the potential to increase the nation's ability to compete on a global stage as the world races to find technology solutions to the world's greatest climate challenges while also unlocking regional economic growth and creating opportunities.
In addition to the significant national impacts, the NSF engine has the potential to create new jobs and training opportunities in climate technology, particularly for historically underserved, tribal, and rural communities within the region of service. If successful, the innovation ecosystem driven by the NSF engine will accelerate market-ready, globally scalable scientific and technological innovations that empower communities, governments, and industry to prevent, mitigate, prepare, respond to, and recover from climate-related events exacerbated by aridification, including drought, wildfire, storms, and floods.
The NSF engine will also create new technology startups that solve industry needs, bringing with it new jobs, opportunities, and economic prosperity for the states of Colorado and Wyoming. The Colorado - Wyoming Climate Resilience Engine has a region of service that spans all of Colorado and Wyoming and includes a large ecosystem of core partners that are essential to the NSF engine's success: large corporations; universities (including four- and two-year academic institutions, tribal colleges, and Hispanic-serving institutions); economic and workforce development organizations; non-profits; and investment firms.
This diverse coalition of partners will be central to R&D, translation of technology to commercialization, and workforce development efforts. The NSF engine will focus on environmental monitoring technologies and predictive analytics for climate resiliency. The NSF engine will work with core partners and stakeholders including community members, researchers, and industry partners to prioritize R&D initiatives that will build more climate-resilient communities, address user needs, and demonstrate market potential through an integrated co-production process.
The research and translation goals of the NSF engine are to: (1) accelerate community-driven R&D in monitoring technologies and predictive analytics for climate-resilient communities; (2) de-risk translational projects with accelerator programs and rapidly scaling promising innovations; and (3) generate and attract more substantial investments, technologies, and startups to build a sustainable NSF engine that will nurture a diverse, skilled workforce for a climate-tech innovation ecosystem across Colorado and Wyoming. Collectively, these goals will enable the region to become a global leader in innovations for climate resiliency and accelerate regional economic growth.
The leadership team brings deep expertise across all core functions of the NSF engine to ensure the NSF engine goals are met. This expertise includes climate science and data analytics, technology commercialization, entrepreneurship, small business management, and development of sustainable partnerships across higher education, industry, community, and government. The NSF engine has engaged economic and workforce development organizations, industry, national labs, and technical colleges across Colorado and Wyoming to build training and mentorship opportunities.
Specific activities include a range of work-based learning programs, talent matching programs to connect employers to future employees, and the development of credential programs for a climate science workforce. Workforce development activities will prioritize rural and historically underserved communities within the region of service. The Colorado - Wyoming Climate Resilience Engine has brought together a strong coalition of partners and identified strong alignment with regional assets and priorities.
The NSF engine has identified critical R&D topic areas that must be advanced to build climate-resilient communities worldwide. It will support R&D and translational activities to cultivate an innovative ecosystem of technology companies focused on climate science, while also driving economic growth through job creation and training opportunities. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- Subawards are planned for this award.
Funding Goals
THE GOAL OF THIS FUNDING OPPORTUNITY, "NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION REGIONAL INNOVATION ENGINES", IS IDENTIFIED IN THE LINK: HTTPS://WWW.NSF.GOV/PUBLICATIONS/PUB_SUMM.JSP?ODS_KEY=NSF23200
Grant Program (CFDA)
Awarding Agency
Place of Performance
Fort Collins,
Colorado
80524-2311
United States
Geographic Scope
Single Zip Code
Related Opportunity
23-200
Rocky Mountain Innovation Initiative was awarded
NSF ENGINES: Colorado-Wyoming Climate Resilience Engine
Cooperative Agreement 2315760
worth $15,000,000
from in March 2024 with work to be completed primarily in Fort Collins Colorado United States.
The grant
has a duration of 2 years and
was awarded through assistance program 47.084 NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships.
Status
(Ongoing)
Last Modified 8/21/25
Period of Performance
3/1/24
Start Date
2/28/26
End Date
Funding Split
$15.0M
Federal Obligation
$0.0
Non-Federal Obligation
$15.0M
Total Obligated
Activity Timeline
Subgrant Awards
Disclosed subgrants for 2315760
Transaction History
Modifications to 2315760
Additional Detail
Award ID FAIN
2315760
SAI Number
None
Award ID URI
SAI EXEMPT
Awardee Classifications
Other
Awarding Office
491502 INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY ECOSYSTEMS
Funding Office
491502 INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY ECOSYSTEMS
Awardee UEI
QXE3WFGB33Z8
Awardee CAGE
5QJS7
Performance District
CO-02
Senators
Michael Bennet
John Hickenlooper
John Hickenlooper
Modified: 8/21/25